For the first week, we were instructed to bring an object that held a deep meaning to us. This object was the focus for discussion during this first workshop. Through discussions with peers, it was evident that we had all brought something that held a lot of meaning behind it. This included items such as jewellery, old pennies and pictures.

I chose to bring in my copy of The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien, as it held personal significance to me. I discussed why it was important to me and explained that it was my great Aunts copy of the book which was passed down towards my mum.

This book brings back memories of when I was younger and my mum would read to me. I later learned to read this book independently. Through this book, my love of fantasy evolved and I became an avid reader from a young age.

Using an evocative object to focus on will allow me to engage with the arts and express feeling and creativity in a unique way. This is important for children to engage in during their time at school as it can create communication without the use of words. Pupils will be able to show how they are feeling in their own individual way. It will also enable them to explore their own thought and feelings in a way that is not limiting them.

“The arts enable us to have experiences we can have from no other source and through such experiences to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.” Eisner (2002)

We were told that by the end of the module we would be making a complete artpiece revolving around our evocative object with one or more elements added to it. After discussing idea of how we could achieve this, we then began to plan our drawing aspect of our finished product. This included picking a section/portion of our evocative object to concentrate on.

REFERENCES

Eisner, E. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach. London: Yale University Press.